We knew before we started this game that it was going to be physical and Ethelberts were a big side and so it proved to be. From the very start Ethelberts were putting themselves about with several bumps and contacts happening as players tried to establish a foothold on the game.
We started well and were controlling the ball. Our passing was slick and sharp and we were moving the opposition around as we probed to find a breakthrough. Their defence was well drilled, however, and we were being kept at arms length with Jason, Gareth and Andy being limited to shots from distance.
It soon became apparent that the referee was going to let the game flow and it was to be a fast match. Ethelberts appeared to be pushing the boundary of non walking but without being penalised so they continued to play in this manner. Despite this, we continued to look strong in all areas with Phil and Paul comfortable at the back and pushing forward to support whenever possible.
Somewhat against the run of play, Ethelberts scored first. They broke down their right with Linden being out paced and the strike was low and hard passed Jan and went in off the post.
This, if anything, spurred us on to match their speed. We continued to enjoy plenty of possession and were creating good opportunities to see the final ball go astray. We kept their keeper honest and he pulled off a string of good saves. We kept them at distance with Jan easily handling the long range shots that they tried. We pushed hard to get back on level terms but just couldn't get the ball in the net and we went in at half time one goal down.
The midway talk was about continuing our high tempo game as we were expecting Ethelberts to tire. If anything we wanted to move the ball faster and pull their players around to create more space.
We were on the front foot from the off. The intensity we showed soon had Ethelberts struggling to stay with us. The resultant was that there was a marked increase in the already high number of contact offences that they committed. We were being given more and more free kicks all over the pitch as they seem to want to disrupt our rhythm.
One such free kick from deep in our own half was played up to Jason whose pass round the corner found Gareth who held off two Ethelbert defenders and put his low shot into the bottom left hand corner and we were level.
Ethelberts were now obviously tiring despite them making several substitutions. We were enjoying long periods of possession and we pressed them high when they had it. We were forcing them to kick the ball long and Phil and Paul were happy to marshal their forwards wide and away from our goal. The shots they did have were from range and Jan was happy to watch them sail handsomely wide and / or high.
Our second goal again started from a free kick at our back line. The ball was played straight through to Jason who held it up before dropping it square for Gareth to beat their keeper to his right in off the post with a vicious drive.
The indiscipline issues shown by Ethelberts continued and any one of three or four of them were treading a fine line. Eventually, the referee had had enough and a blue card was shown. We tried to make the extra man count but they managed to keep us out. Gareth and Jason came close to extending our lead but their defence held strong.
Towards the end, in fact, Ethelberts came close to scoring a surprise equaliser. They had the ball down their left and a quick turn and hard shot saw the ball strike our bar with Jan, who had been a virtual spectator for the half, getting the merest of finger tips on the ball. The ball did come back to another of their players who subsequent shot hit the post and rebounded to Jan. It is unclear if it would have counted as the ball that came back off the bar had looked to have gone high.
We continued to manage the ball well after this and saw the game to a successful end without further incident and a hard fought victory. Ethelbert Wanderers 1 - 2 Canterbury.
There will be some very battered and bruised bodies this morning as everyone received numerous contact offences against them. That said, we all continued from start to finish and gave absolutely everything to the cause.
My thanks to the substitutes that turned up on a cold evening but never got on.
Additionally, special thanks goes to the the supporters whose vocal encouragement and vision from the side lines was immense as ever.
Congratulations to Linden for winning the Player Of The Match.
Paul
